Award Winning Poem

I was shocked and thrilled when my name was called last night for winning first place in the Odyssey Poetry Contest at Life, the Universe and Everything symposium.

Here’s the poem:

A Tale of Moonlight

Beneath the werewolf moon slept the Hunter’s only daughter;
Fair beyond compare, her heart was closed to all who sought her.
For she heard the song beyond the trees and felt the moonlight’s pull;
She waited until her parents slept, then into the forest stole.

She felt his golden eyes upon her and met his wild, feral gaze;
He circled slowly around her in the moonlit meadow’s haze.
But she was not afraid, though her heart pounded in her chest;
She held her head up high and hoped that she would pass his test.

He closed the space between them, his tread silent as the night;
And stopped where he could study her bathed in silvery starlight.
He reached up a hand and touched her hair as fair as meadow gold;
His fingers lingered on her skin, her cheeks flushed from the midnight cold.

His eyes were dark where hers were light, her smile melted his every wall;
He could hear the pureness of her heart, and felt his defenses fall.
He was her opposite in everything, her soft thoughts and every feature;
He dropped his gaze and turned away, for he was a dark and deadly creature.

She grabbed his hand, a daring move that surprised the pair;
He turned back with a shadow smile, and watched her standing there.
‘Please,’ she whispered desperately, her heart in her eyes unfurled;
He let out a breath, took her hand, and led her into his world.

The darkness washed to color, every leaf and petal gleamed;
She stepped into a hidden world that no human eye had seen.
He led her through golden ferns and past lakes awash in flame;
Through shadowed graves where warriors lay and souls without a name.

The darkness revealed wonders that chased the fears far from her mind;
He watched her as she saw his life, her smile soft and kind.
He took her to the meadow and the trees that were his home;
He watched her as she tread where he had only walked alone.

She held his heart with every smile, her blue eyes bright and clear;
But he was afraid to take the final step, for others had shown him only fear.
When she touched his cheek he closed his eyes, his body still as stone;
To keep himself from hiding from the only kindness he had known.

Her lips pressed soft to his, her kiss so sweet it calmed his heart;
He kissed her back as tenderly, their worlds no longer far apart.
She slept within his arms, her hair a halo on his chest;
He rose and when she stirred, he bid his fair maiden to rest.

He carried her through the trees to her home upon the hill;
And set her gently in her bed as the sun rose beyond the sill.
He watched her as she slept with a smile on her face;
Then in a wolven hush he turned and into morning light he raced.

The Hunter’s daughter woke, her dreams so real she paused to stare;
At the sunlight that spilled in the window, and the meadow gold that rested there.